Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Avocado Sauce

When you need to get dinner on the table fast, what do you cook? Cooking fish or shrimp is what immediately come to mind for me. I like to keep deveined frozen wild-caught shrimp on hand, as it can easily be thawed, packs so much flavor, and cooks in minutes. Shrimp also has many wonderful health benefits, as it’s high in heart healthy fat, antioxidants and vitamins and minerals. While shrimp is high in cholesterol, only about 25% of the population in sensitive to dietary cholesterol. For the majority of us, eating cholesterol does not raise our blood cholesterol. In fact, studies have shown that high intakes of saturated fat, added sugar and trans fats are actually what increase our cholesterol. For more in depth details on the many health benefits of shrimp, read this post.

This recipe is so simple, yet flavorful and ready in minutes. Make the avocado sauce first by combining one avocado, a handful of cilantro, garlic cloves, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, lime juice and water in a food processor. Then make the shrimp and assemble your tacos. I also like to slice bell peppers, add a little extra virgin olive oil to coat the pan, saute them in the same pan after removing the shrimp and use them as a topping for my tacos. The brown bits left in the pan add so much flavor to veggies! Feel free to top your tacos with whatever veggies you enjoy!

Also, note the best way to thaw shrimp is in the refrigerator overnight sitting in a colander, in a sealed bag. Or, if you don’t have time to defrost, seal the shrimp in an airtight Ziploc bag, pressing all the air out, then run cold water over the bag for 10 minutes. Also, don’t discard the tails after you’ve removed them. Store them in Ziploc bag in the freezer and use them to make wonderful homemade stock. Lastly, you can also make the shrimp recipe on it’s own, and add it to salads, a burrito bowl or a pizza. You can find the Easy Lemon Garlic Shrimp recipe here.

I hope this shrimp taco recipe becomes a weeknight staple for you, as it is for me! Make this recipe and let me know your thoughts in the comments, tag me @bloomwithbenutrition on social media and share with your family and friends. Let’s bloom!